A new $28.2 million dental facility is set to bring affordable dental care to south Auckland patients.
The University of Otago will build the two-storey, 32-chair facility on Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) land at Manukau SuperClinic on Great South Rd.
Patients are expected to be modestly charged, with each appointment costing around $40, Health Minister David Clark says.
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People living in low socio-economic areas and Maori and Pacific communities have the greatest need and poorest access to quality dental care, Dr Clark says.
Forty-eight Bachelor of Dental Surgery students sitting their final year of study will be assigned to the facility at any one time.
This facility will act as teaching opportunity for the students while meeting those high health needs providing affordable access to dental care for both children and adults.
It is expected the clinic will see around 18,800 patients through the door each year.
University of Otago Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences, Professor Paul Brunton, says the project is a win-win situation for both the local community and the university.
"Patients are contributing to the education of the country's future dentists and, in exchange, they have access to high-quality dental care."
The facility comes as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two institutes in 2014 so they could work together to achieve mutual goals.
"The new facility will not only provide students with diverse practical learning opportunities, but also increase their understanding of people from a wide range of backgrounds," Professor Brunton says.
Design work is underway for the space with the project set to open in 2020.
Newshub.
